Brothers
by The Knight's Honor
Summary: Dartz, Timaeus, Critias, and Hieremos were the four "brothers." Everything changes when the Orichalcos arrives, and Dartz's mind is destroyed. Waking the Dragons Arc with a few tiwsts.
1. LEGEND

BROTHERS

A Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Monsters Fanfiction

By The Knight's Honor

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I do not own YGO DM or any of the characters._

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"_We'll always be brothers, right?"_

It had been long ago that the four most powerful forces in Atlantis befriended each other. The bond between the four friends had grown so strong, that they began calling each other "brothers." Even though they were not all related, they were as close as any brothers would be.

At the beginning, the young prince of Atlantis, Dartz, was only ten years of age. He loved to wander the streets of Atlantis, in search of an adventure. He often found himself being chased by other children, falling to the ground, and getting dirt on his royal robes. The brave little prince still adventured, no matter what happened to him.

It was a hot summer day when the prince set out once again from the castle. He had gone out to follow the faeries who usually played with him in the courtyard. He chased them playfully, unaware of how far he was straying from the castle. Soon, he found himself in a dimly lit alleyway. A sense of fear filled his body and he started to run to the light at the end of the alley, only to be blocked by a large bully. He backed away slowly, trying to stay strong.

"What's this? Has the prince come out of hiding? We heard you would be out today. You always are," the bully said.

"Leave me alone," Dartz said.

The prince found himself cornered, and soon, surrounded by four other bullies. He looked for a way to get out of the situation, but found none.

"What's wrong Dartz? Too afraid to fight, or are you just unable to get those lily-white hands of yours dirty?"

Dartz tried to run between the bullies, but found himself on the ground. The bullies began to hit and kick him.

"Stop hitting me!" he cried.

"Why should we? You're royalty, you have everything, you're poised, proper, and perfect! It's time you learned what it's like to be beaten down like a dog!"

Dartz began to cry. Tears streamed down his now dirt covered face. He reached out to try once again to scramble away, but he only managed to get a bully's foot on his hand.

"Are you afraid?" one of the bullies asked the little prince as he pressed his foot harder on Dartz's hand.

"No… I'm not afraid of you," the prince lied. He was a very bad liar.

"Hey!"

The bullies stopped hitting and kicking Dartz. The prince looked up to see three boys standing in the alleyway.

"Don't hurt him. He's the prince!"

The biggest bully walked up to the shortest of the three boys. "Who do you think you are, bossing us around?"

The small boy smirked. "I'm Timaeus, and these are my friends, twin brothers Critias and Hieremos."

"And you think you can stop us?" the bully asked.

"Of course we can. Critias, Hieremos, defend the prince," Timaeus said as he charged at the large bully.

Critias was fast. He shoved the two bullies, who were still near Dartz, out of the way. Helping the prince to his feet, Critias gave him a piggy back ride to the other end of the alleyway.

Hieremos was strong. He grabbed a bully's arm and twisted it behind his back. The bully cried out in pain. Hieremos followed Critias to the other end of the alleyway.

Timaeus had the greatest stamina. He had tackled the biggest bully to the ground and was wrestling with him. He didn't give up, even when the other bullies tried to attack him as well. Finally, when the large bully was fatigued and unable to fight, Timaeus got up.

"Critias, Hieremos, let's go."

As the four boys walked to the castle, Dartz was silent.

"What's wrong?" Critias asked, noticing the prince's silence.

"How… how did you know I was in the alleyway?" Dartz asked

"We saw the bullies go into the alleyway. Those kids never go anywhere with good intentions," Timaeus said, still looking ahead.

"You're all so strong," Dartz said, looking at his feet.

"You fared very well against those five, and you should get credit for that," Hieremos said, a grin spreading across his face.

"What happens if I run into them again?"

"We'll defend you. Generally, it's every Atlantian's duty to protect their prince," Critias said.

"And we're always there to defend those who need it."

"What happens when you three don't want to have the duty of protecting me anymore?"

"Look," Timaeus glanced at the prince, "We're not going to leave you. You can hang out with us whenever you want."

"Yeah, we'd love to have you in our group," Hieremos said.

Dartz's golden eyes watered. "Really? Thanks guys…"

Timaeus took Dartz's hand and saw that it was still bleeding. "Does it hurt?" he asked the prince.

"A little, why?"

"Hieremos, where's the flask of water that you had?"

Hieremos produced the flask and opened it. "This might hurt a little, but I promise that it will be a lot better than having a broken hand."

He poured the water on Dartz's hand. The prince flinched, but didn't cry out. When Hieremos wiped the water off of Dartz's hand, the bleeding had stopped, and his hand looked as good as new.

"You healed my hand…" the prince looked at Hieremos, "How did you do it?"

"That's the power of friendship," Hieremos said.

Dartz bid farewell to his new friends when he reached the castle. He wanted to tell his father, King Ironheart, about his day. He knew his father wouldn't like the part where he was being attacked by bullies, but perhaps he would reward Timaeus and his friends with something great.

"Dartz, where have you been? I've been looking for you."

Dartz looked at his father. "I'm sorry, father. I went out to go play with the faeries, but I got lost."

Ironheart looked at his young son, and at his dirty robes.

"So, what did this to you?"

Dartz explained the whole story to his father. He explained how he felt that he had no friends in the castle. He told his father that Timaeus and his two friends had rescued him, and that they had promised to be friends with him. He explained how Hieremos miraculously healed his broken hand, and hoe Critias had defended him so bravely.

Ironheart seemed amused by his young son's story. He asked to see Timaeus, Critias and Hieremos.

"If what you say is true, then I know exactly what to do with Timaeus, Critias and Hieremos."

When Timaeus and his friends arrived at the castle, Dartz was outside waiting for them.

"Father has a surprise for you three, although I don't know what it is…"

Timaeus patted Dartz on the shoulder and walked into the castle. Critias and Hieremos walked with Dartz to the great hall.

"So you are the three who rescued Dartz from those other kids." Ironheart began.

"Yes, your majesty. We found him on the ground. They were hitting and kicking him," Timaeus began.

"I know the story." Ironheart said, "And I thank you for being so kind to my son. Tell me, Timaeus, how old are you?"

"I'm almost fifteen."

"You should at least be apprenticed to someone by now." Ironheart said, "but I have a better plan for you."

Critias and Hieremos looked at Dartz, who shrugged.

"You will be apprenticed to a knight. You will eventually be Sir Timaeus of Atlantis." Ironheart said

Timaeus grinned. "Thank you, your majesty, but what about my friends?"

"How old are they?"

"We're almost thirteen, " Hieremos said, "We're twins."

Ironheart smiled. "Then you too will become knights."

Dartz smiled at his friends. He turned to look at his father. "May I train with them?"

Ironheart laughed. "Dartz, you're still very young. You haven't quite mastered your archery skills yet, and I'm slightly afraid to put a sword in your hand."

"We can watch out for him," Timaeus said.

"We'd like him to train with us." Critias added.

"Well then, if you promise to keep Dartz safe, then he can train with you."

"We promise."

"Thank you, father," Dartz said.

Ironheart knew that the three knights to be would do something great. He could feel it.


	2. GROWING UP TOO SOON

CHAPTER II – GROWING UP TOO SOON

As the years passed, the four "brothers" trained with each other to become stronger mentally and physically. At age thirteen, Dartz had become lean and tall. He was already taller that Timaeus. Critias and Hieremos were still taller than Dartz, but not by much. Timaeus, at age seventeen, stood at five foot five. He had been small for his age even when he was still a young teen. Dartz was five foot seven, and still had a ways to go. According to Timaeus, he was "unnaturally tall for his age."

Dartz had taken to tying his long icy blue hair back in a loose ponytail. His golden eyes were filled with determination and a strong spirit. He was like Timaeus, he was determined to learn and get stronger, even to the point where he exhausted himself during training. He always battled with Critias and Hieremos, but he had yet to have a battle with Timaeus.

"You ready, Dartz?" Critias asked as he raised his sword.

"Of course," Dartz replied. He took a swing at Critias's head.

Timaeus watched the two battle, looking at the strategies of each. Dartz seemed to be more offensive, and had powerful attacks that would have usually defeated most others in a few hits. Critias used his speed to his advantage. He dodged Dartz's attacks with ease, and counterattacked with his own faster attacks. Dartz didn't show any signs of fatigue though. Critias, after about ten minutes, began to slow down. Dartz took the opportunity and knocked Critias's sword from his hand.

"Good job, Dartz, you're getting stronger every day," Critias said as he picked up his sword.

Dartz smiled. "Yeah, I've been practicing with father as well."

"With stamina like that, you'll be able to take on Timaeus some day." Hieremos said.

Dartz looked at Timaeus. "I don't think I'm ready for that yet."

They all knew that Timaeus was still the strongest, the fastest, and the most strategic one. Dartz, although very strong, did not have the strategic planning skill that Timaeus had. The three knights in training and the prince laughed about legends of dragons, and sometimes pretended to slay leviathans and behemoths.

Outside the courtyard, a girl waited. She watched the four "brothers" train and play. At age eleven, Iona was already more learned than most of the girls her age, and even some of the boys. She knew just as much as Timaeus about strategy, but she never thought to use her genius for any fighting. She was, after all, a lady. She dreamed of one day leaving Atlantis and going to explore the world outside. Her father, King Ironheart's most trusted advisor, had told her about the outside world. She wanted to run away with a friend or a loved one and show them the world beyond their safe haven.

"Iona?"

She turned. Dartz waved from the courtyard.

"Oh, I'm sorry, am I interrupting something?" she asked.

"No, not at all. Come join us, we'd love company," Critias said.

Iona climbed over the wall that separated the courtyard from the rest of the castle grounds and ran to Dartz and his friends.

"Dartz, are these your friends?" she asked.

"Yeah, they're going to be knights when father thinks they're ready," he said.

"Knights? Do they know anything about the world outside Atlantis?"

"I know that there's a realm of monsters hidden somewhere," Timaeus said.

"Wow, a realm of monsters… I wonder what it's like there," Iona said.

"Iona, you shouldn't be running off like that. Even though Timaeus knows about the outside world, doesn't mean it's safe," Dartz said, looking at Timaeus.

"Yeah, it's not that safe," Timaeus said.

"And who's going to stop me from running?" Iona asked.

"I will. I said I'd always protect you," Dartz said. He took Iona's hand, smiling.

"You might think that it would be fun to go out into the real world, but out there is violence and danger," he stared.

"But there's adventure too. Didn't you go on adventures when you were my age?" she asked.

"I did. And Timaeus, Critias, and Hieremos had to save my skin a lot," Dartz said.

Iona gave Dartz's hand a gentle squeeze. "You can't prevent everything," she said.

"Iona," Dartz said, "You can't just leave Atlantis, you'll need someone to go with you."

She let go of his hand. "Well, I'll find someone to go with me."

Dartz watched her leave the courtyard. He blushed madly and turned back to his "brothers" when she had left. He opened his mouth to say something.

"You like her, don't you," Critias said.

"Yeah, and?" Dartz said, looking at his feet.

"Well, why don't you go adventure with her?" Timaeus said.

"Adventure... with Iona?" Dartz didn't seem to like the idea.

"What's wrong with adventuring with Iona?" Hieremos asked.

"I can't just leave. Father will worry, and he might send out a search party for me."

"Dartz, come inside."

The prince looked up. Standing in the doorway to the castle was King Ironheart. Beside him was his trusted advisor, Iona's father.

"Damn," Dartz said, "I have to go. I'll catch you guys tomorrow."

Timaeus patted Dartz's shoulder.

"You promised Iona eternal protection?"

Ironheart looked at his son. Dartz looked at Iona's father. He didn't show any signs of anger, but he didn't look happy either.

"I did. I promised her protection when I was eight. I kept my promise, right?"

"Dartz, that's really serious. If you promise her protection, she may not expect any less. I advise that you either spend more time with Iona, or tell her that you can no longer offer her protection. Tell her the truth about how you feel."

Dartz looked at his father. "But where is she? I don't—"

Iona ran through the doors of the great hall.

"I'm sorry father, I got here as soon as… oh, Dartz, what are you doing here?"

Ironheart and Iona's father exchanged looks.

"Iona, we've arranged…" her father started.

"You two will be married when you come of age," Ironheart said.

Dartz looked at Iona. She was still so young. He was also only thirteen, although his fourteenth birthday was coming up soon.

"Iona, I…" Dartz stuttered.

"It's alright, I understand," she said.

"No, that's not it. I wanted to tell you this for a while… I…"

She took his hand. "You don't have to say anything."

Ironheart and his advisor left Iona and Dartz standing in the great hall.


	3. THE QUEST

CHAPTER III – THE QUEST

Dartz's seventeenth birthday was a great excitement for everyone. Ironheart had promised him the throne when he turned twenty one, the age that Timaeus was on Dartz's birthday. It was also a big day for Timaeus. He was going to be knighted that day. He was just as excited as Dartz was. The great hall was filled with Atlantians. Dartz had invited nearly _everyone_ to his party. Dartz and his three "brothers" sat at the front of the grand hall. Seated beside Dartz was Iona, his wife to be. Their arranged marriage was no secret, nor was their love for each other. Dartz looked affectionately at Iona, and then turned his attention to Timaeus.

"You're going to have a great knighting. I know it."

Timaeus smiled at Dartz. "Thanks, brother. I only hope that you're there too."

After Dartz's party had ended, the crowd of Atlantians made way for Ironheart. He held a sword, the Sword of Kings. Timaeus knew that sword well. It was used to knight the squires and knights in training, and today, it would knight him. Timaeus stood as Ironheart approached, and knelt down before him.

"Today," Ironheart began, "we welcome a new knight to Atlantis. Today, Timaeus will be knighted."

Timaeus waited for the touch of the sword on his shoulder. When the sword touched his shoulder, it had a slight tremor in its touch. He opened his eyes and looked up at Dartz, who held the sword in one shaking hand. This was his knighting. It was Timaeus's knighting, and Dartz's next step on his way to the throne.

"I hereby name thee Sir Timaeus of Atlantis," Dartz said, "You may now stand."

Timaeus stood and looked at his "brother." Critias and Hieremos cheered from the crowd. The rest of the Atlantians cheered as well. Dartz knew that knighting his "brother" was the best thing he could do.

After most of the crowd had left, Dartz, Timaeus, Critias, and Hieremos were left in the great hall. Dartz smiled at Timaeus.

"I'd like to thank you for everything you've done for me," he started.

"Wait, are you going somewhere?" Timaeus asked.

"Yes, I am. I promised Iona that I'd take her outside Atlantis. I'll be back though," he said.

"Dartz, the only thing that lies outside Atlantis is danger. You might not last out there," Critias said.

"We'll worry about you," Hieremos added.

"Don't worry. I'll be fine," Dartz smiled at his "brothers."

The next morning, Dartz donned his travelling robes and went to fetch Iona from her bedchamber. He knocked on the door and it swung open. Iona sat on her bed, brushing her long brown hair.

"Oh, Dartz, you're early," she said.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know that you'd still be getting ready," he said, a blush coming to his pale cheeks.

"It's alright," she said, "Come sit down."

He sat on the bed next to her, and took the brush from her. He started combing his fingers through her hair. She sighed and leaned back against him. It felt right. She wasn't really sure what she was doing, and she was pretty sure that he didn't know either.

"Dartz," she asked, "What's it like being royalty?"

"It's dreadfully boring," he said, still stroking her hair.

"I only ask because I want to know what to expect as queen."

"Well, father's giving me the throne when I'm twenty one. I can probably tell you then."

He kissed the top of her head. She blushed.

"Dartz?"

The prince looked up. Timaeus stood in the doorway.

"Timaeus? Is something wrong?"

"Look outside!"

Dartz ran to the window. Outside, there was a great storm. A dark cloud shaped like a dragon seemed to swallow the sun. Stones rained from the sky. Iona grabbed Dartz's hand. She shivered. Timaeus gave her a cloak to wrap around herself.

"What's going on?"

Hieremos and Critias ran into the room.

"Something's wrong. Something's terribly, terribly wrong," Dartz said, "We need to warn father!"

The five ran down the hallways, and found Ironheart standing on the balcony. He was staring at the water in the fountain. It had a green glow to it. The citizens of Atlantis were running and panicking. Some of them were hit with the stones, and some retreated into their houses. Dartz looked at his father.

"What are we going to do?" he asked.

"You're going to knight Critias and Hieremos right now. Then you four will go and see if anyone's hurt. We need as many helping hands as possible."

Dartz turned to leave.

"And Dartz, you should take this."

Ironheart put a pendant around Dartz's neck. It was a green pendant with gold around the edge. Inside the pendant was a unicursal hexagram. Dartz looked at the pendant, and in his reflection, he saw for a moment that his left eye had turned a glowing green. He shook the image out of his head. It was nonsense. His eyes were gold.

Dartz took the Sword of Kings and knighted Critias and Hieremos. The two brothers looked at each other and nodded. They donned their armor and ran out to meet Timaeus. Dartz put on his armor as well and took the Sword of Kings with him, just in case.

Outside the castle there was chaos in the streets. The women and children were inside the houses, while the men tried to gather the stones to see what they were. When the stones came in contact with the Atlantians, their eyes turned a glowing green. To the knights and Dartz, this meant that there must have been a powerful magic in the stones. Dartz tried to break one open with his sword. He heard a crack, but the stone had not a scratch. Instead, he realized that the Sword of Kings had shattered.

"Fall back, Timaeus! This is no ordinary substance!" he called.

As the years passed, the people of Atlantis grew smarter and smarter. They built technology and made advancements that not even Dartz could have imagined. Ironheart had given the throne to Dartz. Iona had given birth to a little girl, Kris. Of course, Dartz and his family had not come in contact with the strange stones. Not yet.

"Dartz,"

Timaeus entered the castle, holding the ripped shirt of an Atlantian. The shirt had blood on it. Dartz gasped.

"What is this?"

"There's something terribly wrong with the stones. I saw it with my own eyes," Timaeus said.

"What happened?" Dartz asked.

Timaeus recounted the scene. An Atlantian man had started to cry out in pain. Wings had burst from his back, his hands became claws. His eyes turned red. He became a monster. Timaeus had slain the man, but he had found in his hand, a stone.

"Did he say anything before he changed?" Dartz asked.

"He only said one word before he started to scream. Orichalcos."

Dartz looked outside. Maybe it would stop. He could only hope.

Later that night, Iona fell ill. She had a high fever and Dartz had called in a doctor. The doctor found nothing wrong with her, and told Dartz that she'd get better. The new King didn't believe him though

Iona's sickness got worse and worse. She was miserable, and she shied away from others. Soon, it was only Dartz and Kris who could go and see her. On Kris's sixth birthday, Dartz advised her to go see Timaeus. He said that the knight would keep her company while he checked on Iona.

When Dartz found Iona, she was in the great hall. She had wandered into the hall, unaware of her surroundings. She looked like she was in pain.

"Iona, are you alright?"

Dartz ran to his wife, and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. She cried out and pushed him away. The next thing he knew, she too was changing. Her arm became scaly and clawed. Panicked, she ran from him.

He heard her scream from the balcony.

"Iona? What's going on?"

When he went out onto the balcony, he didn't see Iona. Instead, he saw a monster holding a body in its jaws. The monster dropped the body and turned to Dartz.

"Iona!" he cried.

Around the monster's neck was Iona's necklace. It was her. She had been transformed into something horrid. Dartz didn't want to believe it. He called to her again. This time, the monster showed its teeth and rushed at him. He drew the Sword of Kings, which had been repaired, and ran it through the monster. As it fell, he saw it change back into Iona. He had killed her.

Holding her body in his arms, he sobbed. Why was this happening? Why was Atlantis suddenly crumbling? The fountain in the courtyard was filled with blood. He carried Iona's body back to her room and placed her on the bed. He kissed her mouth, but he knew she wouldn't wake up. She would never open those beautiful brown eyes ever again.

Dartz headed down into the courtyard. He saw that the fountain was now filled with a glowing green liquid. He waded through the liquid and found a stone, an Orichalcos stone, waiting in the water for him. He picked it up and everything changed. He saw the universe surrounded in darkness. He fell through the universe until he saw the Earth. It looked so dark, so corrupted. Beneath the surface of the earth, he saw a great leviathan sleeping.

When he woke up, he was sitting in his throne. He looked around for Iona, and then remembered what had happened.

"Dartz!"

It was his father's voice.

"You must get rid of these Orichalcos stones. They're destroying Atlantis!"

Madness took over Dartz's mind. He laughed. "Destroying? No, they've opened my eyes. The people of Atlantis are evil, and they must be wiped out."

Ironheart gasped. "Dartz, what's gotten into you?"

"We should be thanking the Orichalcos for showing us the true nature of humans, not blaming it for the mistakes of humanity."

Dartz stood up from his throne and looked at his father. Ironheart noticed his eyes. One was green and one was gold. It was the Orichalcos.

"Are you mad, Dartz?"

"I have been given a gift, old man. I now possess the power to wipe out Atlantis and begin again!"

The stone in his hand glowed and the unicursal seal appeared above the throne. Five monstrous soldiers appeared from the seal. Kris ran in with her pet wolf Sonny, and gasped. Ironheart backed away from Dartz.

"Meet my Orichalcos soldiers!" Dartz said, a maniacal smile appearing on his face.

"Grandpa, I'm scared," Kris cried as she ran to Ironheart's side.

"If you join my side, then you have nothing to fear. If not, farewell." Dartz said, looking at his daughter.

"We'll never join you!" Ironheart yelled as he grabbed Kris's hand. The two ran with Sonny out of the castle.

"Have it your way…" Dartz said.


	4. A TRUE BROTHER

CHAPTER IV – A TRUE BROTHER

When Timaeus heard the news about his brother, he was heartbroken. He told Hieremos and Critias, who were also just as saddened. They retreated into a cavern, far from the castle, where Dartz couldn't find them. Timaeus perked up, hearing footsteps approaching. Could it be Dartz?

"In there, Kris, and quickly!"

It was Ironheart and Kris.

When Kris stepped through the small passageway to the cavern, she was greeted by Timaeus. She ran to him and began to cry.

"Father's gone…" she whimpered.

"He's not gone. We'll save him, and wipe out this Orichalcos," Timaeus said.

Dartz stood on the balcony. He looked down at the ruins that had once been the grand city of Atlantis. The streets were filled with Orichalcos soldiers.

"Go my children and conquer Atlantis, and this world shall be yours!"

He started to laugh. He knew he had the strongest ally. The Great Leviathan was his. There was no way that it could be stopped. The souls of his fellow Atlantians had been used to fuel the Leviathan's power.

When Dartz heard that Ironheart and Kris had raised their own army, he knew he had to see what pathetic group they had. What he didn't expect was to find his "brothers" among the new army.

The battle went on for days. Dartz's Orichalcos soldiers and the beasts that Ironheart had summoned had relatively the same strength. Dartz wanted to face the three Knights of Atlantis on his own.

Critias was the first to battle Dartz. He tried his hardest, but as in their last battle, Dartz was still stronger. He possessed immense power, Critias noticed. When Dartz knocked Critias's sword from his hand, the Knight realized in horror what was happening. Wings burst through his armor. His hands became claws. Slowly but surely, he was becoming a dragon. Dartz had been good at slaying the pretend dragons in their games. When Critias had fully transformed, he took off into the sky.

Hieremos was next. He battled Dartz with all his might, but he too, noticed a change in Dartz's battle plan. Hieremos, when defeated was also transformed into a dragon. Timaeus watched in horror as Hieremos cried out it pain.

When Dartz spotted Timaeus, he smiled.

"So, 'brother,' we meet again."

"You're not the Dartz I know," Timaeus growled.

"You're right. The old Dartz is dead. He died along with Iona."

"Iona… is dead?"

"You foolish knight. You think you know everything, when you can't even see your own brother's strife!"

Dartz charged at Timaeus. The two battled for what seemed like forever, neither one letting up. Dartz suddenly fell. He looked at Timaeus, sadness in his golden eyes. Timaeus believed that his brother was back. He ran to Dartz's side. Dartz lashed out at Timaeus, taking out his left eye. The knight cried out in pain. Dartz stood up, and his left eye turned Orichalcos green. Timaeus coughed up blood. He looked at Dartz, his hand covering the left side of his face.

"Brother, why?"

Dartz threw the Sword of Kings to the ground and stood over Timaeus. Timaeus's eye met Dartz's eyes. They had turned gold again.

"I…"

Dartz cried out in pain. He grabbed at his head. His eyes flickered from gold to Orichalcos green and back. Timaeus knew something was wrong. A pain shot through his body as well. He realized that he was turning into a dragon. Like his other "brothers" he had been defeated by Dartz, and not even the Dartz that he had known as a child.

Dartz reached toward Timaeus and gasped for air.

"Brother!" he called, "Get out of here! It's just going to trap you like it did Critias and Hieremos!"

Timaeus, now fully a dragon, looked sadly at Dartz. He pawed at Dartz's sword, in a sad and childish manner. Dartz's eyes were changing again. Timaeus flew into the sky and disappeared.

That night, Dartz summoned Leviathan. The great beast rose over the castle and Dartz led it to the battlefield. Ironheart, upon hearing of the Leviathan's coming, told his beast army to give it their all.

When Leviathan attacked, Ironheart saw that he would need all of the beasts' powers combined to defeat Leviathan. Dartz stood below Leviathan and commanded one more attack.

The blast shook Atlantis. The Leviathan fell, and Ironheart's beast army disappeared. Dartz realized that he had failed his quest. He heard the voice of the Orichalcos. He would wander until he had enough souls to bring Leviathan back.

Ironheart and Kris disappeared into the spirit world, they would wait until they needed to fight again. Dartz too, disappeared into a different world. He watched as his kingdom of Atlantis sunk to the bottom of the sea.

_Iona…_

The Orichalcos had promised to bring her back if he defeated the next hero.

_I vowed to protect you always._

He would do anything to win her back.


	5. DOMA AND A NEW HERO

CHAPTER V – DOMA AND A NEW HERO

Yugi Muto had unlocked the secret of the Millennium Puzzle. He had unlocked the spirit of the nameless Pharaoh. The energy from the puzzle radiated from his room in the Game shop. Not too far away, Dartz felt the presence of a spirit that could fuel the Leviathan, and give him his Iona back. That spirit was the Nameless Pharaoh. But he would have to wait. He would meet Yugi Muto and his Pharaoh spirit on even grounds.

"_Critias, Hieremos… wake up…"_ The green dragon, Timaeus, nudged his friends, trying to wake them up.

The red dragon, Hieremos, stirred and opened his eyes. He looked around and saw Timaeus's new form.

"_He got you too? And what happened to your eye?"_ the Hieremos dragon asked.

The blue dragon, Critias, woke at the sound of his twin brother's new voice.

"_We're all here because of the same person. We called him Brother once… He is Brother no longer." _

"_Not so," _Timaeus said, _"He said that we could not sense a brother's grief. He lost Iona to the Orichalcos. He went mad, he took out my eye, and although I have a score to settle with him, I understand what he's going through…"_

"_He took out your eye, Timaeus, and you still want to call him brother?"_

"_Silence, Critias!"_ Timaeus growled, _"His eyes too have changed. He is not himself. His left eye is 'Orichalcos green' like what I saw that day with the transforming Atlantian man."_

"_So… he's the vessel for the Orichalcos?" _Hieremos asked, tilting his head.

"_Unfortunately so." _Timaeus said, _"He wants to win her back. He wants to revive Iona, not Leviathan. From what I've heard, the Orichalcos is making him do its dirty work."_

Hieremos shook his head. It seemed impossible, but Timaeus wouldn't lie about something like that. Critias still looked angry.

"_You can't possibly believe that nonsense, can you, Timaeus? He's evil, he used us, he pushed us to our limits and when we were weak, he struck us down."_ Critias growled.

* * *

Dartz learned that Yugi Muto had possession of threevery powerful beasts, the Gods of Egypt. He knew he would need them if he ever wanted to complete the Orichalcos's task. He had a way to get them though. Over time, Dartz had hidden his identity and his Atlantian heritage. Instead, he pretended to be the leader of a very successful company, Paridius. He used the Seal of Orichalcos as the company's emblem. Nobody but his three most trusted employees knew what the symbol meant. The three employees, Rafael, Valon, and Alistair, had found Dartz after disasters struck their lives.

Alistair was the strategic one of the group. Like Timaeus, Alistair knew every move that opponent could make. Although he wasn't close to Dartz in any way, he was a good enough substitute for Timaeus.

Valon was the impulsive and stubborn one. Like Hieremos, he acted on gut feeling, and often ran into a duel. Once again, he wasn't Hieremos, but Dartz was still satisfied.

Rafael was the quiet, yet strong one. Like Critias, he wasn't one to forgive easily. Dartz knew that he'd have to stay on Rafael's good side, just in case. He wasn't Critias, but he would do… for now.

"Dartz," Alistair called.

"Hmm?"

The Atlantian king saw Alistair's reflection in the full length mirror by the wall. He didn't turn to acknowledge the man's presence, but Alistair knew he was paying attention nonetheless.

"I've retrieved the cards you wanted."

Dartz turned to look at Alistair. "So you have the three God Cards from Yugi Muto? How did you get them?"

"Valon and I have our tricks."

Dartz took the cards from Alistair. "Thank you Ti—Alistair."

The young man looked quizzically at Dartz. "What did you call me?"

Dartz realized that he had slipped up. Timaeus was dead for all he knew. He had trapped his favorite brother in the form of a green dragon and had sealed him away.

"It's nothing."

"That's ridiculous, Dartz. You expect me to believe that nothing's wrong when I make you think of_ Timaeus_?"

Dartz struck Alistair across the cheek. The redhead stumbled back. Dartz's eyes flashed.

"Never… speak that name here… Do you understand me?"

Alistair nodded and backed away from Dartz. Usually, Dartz wasn't violent toward the members of Doma.

"Alistair? Dartz? What's going on here?"

Valon rushed into the room. Alistair rubbed his cheek and Dartz had turned back to the mirror.

"I… think I might have hit a sour chord with him…" Alistair said.

"You mentioned them, didn't you."

Dartz spun around again. Dark energy rose from his form like smoke from a raging fire.

"Get. Out," he growled.

"I don't understand what's gotten into him." Alistair said, looking at Valon and Rafael.

The redhead knew that his face would still be sore in the morning. Dartz was very strong for a tall, lean man.

"If you want to know," Rafael started, "he had three 'brothers' once. He confided in me at a time of weakness. There was some battle, and he killed them."

Valon exchanged looks with Alistair. "Do you really think that's the reason he's been lashing out at us lately?"

"If I had one guess, I'd say we're their replacements," Rafael said.

"Hmph," Alistair still was unhappy about Dartz hitting him.

* * *

"_Critias, use your head." _

Timaeus looked at Critias and nudged him.

"_Timaeus, he's dead to me. Dartz did this to us, and he can't change us back, and if he did… I'd kill him. Hell, I could kill him now."_

Hieremos looked at Critias. _"He's not dead to me… I think we can change him back, but if only we could get out of this prison…"_

Critias sighed. _"It's not enough, Hieremos. He's gone. According to Timaeus, he lost his mind when he killed Iona."_

Hieremos backed away._ "He killed… Iona? His own wife? The thing he cherished even more than us?"_

"I'd expect such a stupid question from you, Hieremos."

The dragons turned to see their Atlantian "brother" standing in the entrance to their hideout. How had he found them?

"_Dartz," _Critias roared, _"Look what you've done to us!"_

The blue dragon lashed out at the Atlantian. Claws ripped through robes and flesh and bone. Dartz stumbled back, but did not cry out in pain. What happened next, not even the three Dragons could imagine.

"How does it feel, Dartz, your own brothers have turned on you."

Critias paused. Was this person not Dartz?

The Atlantian king looked up at Critias. It was then that the blue dragon saw his "brother's" eyes. They were Orichalcos green, both of them. Timaeus had described them as heterochromatic.

"_You're not Dartz… You haven't been Dartz since the death of Iona…"_ Hieremos backed away from the Atlantian.

Dartz froze. His eyes changed again. Maybe this was what Timaeus had meant. His eyes were now once again heterochromatic. The left one glowed with the light of the Orichalcos, and the right one was filled with pain and sadness.

"Hieremos… Critias… Timaeus…"

Dartz stumbled again, his hand covering part of the wound Critias had inflicted upon him. The three dragons could see that he was in pain. The Orichalcos had let him take over, just so he could feel the pain.

It all happened very quickly then. Dartz collapsed to the ground, and Hieremos rushed over to him.

"_Critias, there should be a water flask somewhere near my old armor. We can heal him…"_

"_Hieremos, that's ridiculous. If you heal him, the Orichalcos will just come back stronger. It's using Dartz against us, can't you see that?" _Critias said, approaching Hieremos and Dartz.

Timaeus went to get the flask of water, one of the few things that the Dragon Knights had left from their human days.

Hieremos nudged Dartz into a sitting position. Timaeus opened the flask, which was not an easy task for a dragon, and gave it to Critias.

The three dragons managed to get the water onto Dartz's wound.

The water worked, just like it had when Hieremos had healed Dartz's broken hand. Dartz still didn't move though. The pain had made him faint. His "brothers" watched him, making sure that he didn't do something unexpected. Critias wanted to wake him up and ask him what exactly happened to Iona. As if he could read Critias's mind, Hieremos nudged the blue dragon.

"_Don't ask him about her when he wakes up," _ Hieremos said.

"_If. He wakes up," _Timaeus added. He nudged Dartz. Still no response.

Critias went over to Dartz and rolled him onto his back. The Atlantian groaned and opened his eyes. He looked around at Timaeus, Critias, and Hieremos, shocked to the fact that they were dragons.

"Timaeus? Critias? Hieremos? Where am I?"


	6. THE LOST CITY

THE LOST CITY

Iona woke up in her bed. She had remembered being in the throne room, but she couldn't remember much else. Around her, the city of Atlantis buzzed with activity. Her first thought was to go get Dartz and tell him that the stones were a bad dream. Her second thought was that Dartz could be out, since he wasn't beside her. Nonetheless, she knew he _had_ to be in the castle somewhere.

"Dartz?"

Iona walked down the hallway and out onto the balcony. There was blood everywhere. She screamed.

"Iona!"

The young queen turned to see King Ironheart and her daughter, Kris, running toward her.

"Iona, you're alright… thank goodness." Ironheart said.

"Mom… dad's gone…" Kris cried. The little princess still didn't understand the power of the Orichalcos.

"Gone… Kris, that's ridiculous. He can't be … gone… can he?"

"It's true, Iona. Dartz is under the control of a very powerful and wicked spell called the Orichalcos."

The young queen looked back at the balcony. She saw Dartz slaying a monster. The monster had her necklace on… She was the monster.

"The Orichalcos touched everyone, didn't it," Iona whispered.

"Yes, and Dartz saved your soul by killing your monster before it could get power from the Orichalcos," Ironheart said.

"Then why is he not here?" she asked.

"He was driven to madness after he thought he killed you. He loved you more than life itself, Iona."

After hearing what had happened to Atlantis, Iona was in no shape to lead the city. She let Ironheart teach Kris what it would be like to be queen. Iona sat in her room, alone, and wishing that she was with Dartz. No matter what, she would always stand by his side.

* * *

"That's ridiculous, Timaeus," Dartz turned to his "brother."

"_You're not fine, Dartz. You're under the spell of the Orichalcos."_ Critias said, never taking his eyes off of Dartz.

"_You'll get better, if you get rid of the Orichalcos stone that you have…" _Hieremos said.

"Orichalcos stone…?" Dartz was still a little groggy from the magic water. He remembered feeling a burning pain in his side, as if he had been attacked by a very large animal, and he remembered falling, he remembered a little before that, when he had struck Alistair across the face, but the middle part, he was missing. He didn't even know why he was in a cave with his three transformed "brothers."

"Does this mean that I'm not myself?" Dartz was puzzled. He thought he was himself, he felt like himself, and nothing seemed to be wrong.

The dragons nodded.

"Oh. Just what I need," Dartz sighed.

He suddenly perked up. "Where's Iona?"

The dragons exchanged worried looks. Critias opened his mouth to say something, but Timaeus shut him up.

"Is something wrong?"

"_No, brother, everything's fine." _Timaeus lied.

"It's Iona isn't it…" Dartz stood up and stumbled back. He was not quite steady on his feet yet. He closed his eyes and a shiver ran through his body. When he opened his eyes, the left one had a strong glow in it.

"_Damn," _Critias growled, _"He's changed again."_

Dartz looked at Timaeus, then to Critias, and then to Hieremos.

"Don't worry, I'm fine," the Orichalcos Dartz said.

"_Kill him now, Timaeus, before he can get away and awaken Leviathan!" _Critias growled.

Timaeus reluctantly charged at Dartz, who dodged the attack gracefully. It was clear that he had continued to keep himself strong, even when he had no one to train with.

"You can't win, Timaeus," Dartz laughed, "If you kill me, you'll vanquish your brother's spirit for all eternity."

"_Don't listen to that, Timaeus, strike him down!"_

"_Critias, Hieremos, defend." _Timaeus had the other two dragons surround Dartz. He looked at his "brother" and growled. _"If you want to kill me, then just think of what Iona would say if she saw you like this."_

Dartz froze. Iona…

"No!"

He charged at Timaeus, drawing the Sword of Kings from its sheath and tried to strike the green dragon.

"_Damn. I was sure that would work," _Timaeus said, dodging the attack.

"_Now! Critias, Hieremos, attack!" _

Critias lunged at Dartz, ready to bite him, only to be blocked by Dartz's sword. Hieremos attacked Dartz from the side. The Atlantian couldn't take on three dragons at a time though. He looked for a way to distract them. A bright light glowed from his pendant, the pendant with the Orichalcos symbol on it. A figure appeared in the cave. Iona.

Dartz dropped his sword, and was tackled to the ground by three dragons. When Timaeus was about to strike, he looked in Dartz's eyes. They were both gold, even if only for the moment. The dragons let go of Dartz, who rushed over to the image of Iona.

Dartz began to weep.

"Iona, I don't want to be this… I want to go home… I want to be with you…"

The dragons looked at each other. What did Dartz mean by not wanting to be "this?"

"Look… Look at the curse as it burns my very flesh…" Dartz tore the top of his robe off, and the dragons saw the symbols that looked like they had been burned into his skin.

"There is no cure for death, Iona. I realize that now. I can't bring you back, my hopes have been in vain…"

Timaeus saw the symbols beginning to glow. He called to Dartz. He knew why the symbols were on him.

"_Brother!"_

Then the fact hit Critias. Dartz was trying to bring a human soul back to life. He had been feeding the Orichalcos in the hopes that Iona would come back. Now, the Orichalcos had control of his body and his mind.

Iona reached out and put her ghostly hand on Dartz's shoulder. She wiped one of the symbols from his skin. Beneath it was no scar, just Dartz's own pale skin. He wrapped his arms around her gently, as if he was holding a delicate flower. She wasn't solid, but she was definitely real. The dragons watched in awe as Iona's spirit seemed to erase the Orichalcos from Dartz's body. Now, the only thing to heal was his mind.

"Iona, I miss you," Dartz whispered.

"I miss you too, as does your father and your daughter. We're all at home in Atlantis, waiting for you…" Iona said.

She rested her head on Dartz's shoulder. He kissed the top of her head. He knew that she was there, but he knew that she would never be able to live with him in the new world.

"Iona… I have to go back. I can't stay here. My task is not done."

"Task? What task is this?"

"There's a hero. A young man who will free my spirit. When he does, I'll come home. All you have to do is go to sleep. I'll be there in the morning."

She smiled at him and gave him a kiss. "I'll wait for you forever."

When she had faded, the dragons led Dartz to the exit of the cave. He stepped into the light. His robes changed into his Paridius business suit, and his eyes changed into their heterochromatic style. He looked back at the spot where Iona had stood, and nodded.

_I'll come home…_


	7. RETURN

RETURN

Dartz returned to Paridius, now not only was he alone, he was lonely. He had seen Iona… he had held her, and had kissed her forehead. How lovely it had been to see her again. But now he couldn't focus on her. The Orichalcos was demanding more souls, and he knew that he had to find that new hero, Yugi Muto. The Orichalcos still promised Dartz the life of Iona if he captured the souls of the three Legendary Duelists, Yugi Muto, Seto Kaiba, and Joey Wheeler.

"Dartz,"

The Atlantian looked over at Rafael. He was the last gunsman left. Valon and Alistair had given their souls in the name of the Orichalcos, but had discovered too late that Dartz had only been using them.

"Rafael. What do you want?"

"Valon… Valon's gone. He…" Rafael started.

"I know where Valon went. His life energy helps to power the most devastating power the earth has ever seen," Dartz said, looking away from Rafael.

Rafael grabbed Dartz and spun him around. "You don't understand! Valon's dead! Alistair's dead! They're not coming back, and it's your fault!"

Dartz struggled to get free from Rafael's grasp. His eyes flashed and Rafael dropped the Atlantian.

"Now," Dartz said, "You go find Yugi Muto. I think his Pharaoh friend will be more than eager to duel you. I'm sure that you'll be able to find some way to defeat him."

Rafael's eyes glowed Orichalcos green. He nodded, and turned to leave.

"And Rafael, you're the last one. Don't let me down."

* * *

When Rafael found Yugi and his friends, it seemed like they had been waiting for him. He didn't think of why, but he was ready to take the soul of the Pharaoh.

"Rafael!"

The gunsman looked at Yugi. He looked eager to duel.

"You've come to duel, right?" Yugi asked.

"Of course."

The two found themselves dueling on a tall pillar of stone. They readied their duel disks, and prepared to duel. Rafael saw the changes in Yugi as he began to duel. He had switched minds with the Pharaoh.

The duel began relatively normally. Rafael had yet to play the Seal of Orichalcos. This was because he had used a card to switch hands with the Pharaoh. Rafael's plan was to defeat him without the Orichalcos. The plan was going well so far. The Pharaoh had put his Dark Magician Girl and The Eye Of Timaeus on the field. Rafael had frozen both the dragon and his magician rider solid. It was the Pharaoh's turn.

"_Pharaoh!" _Yugi called to his other half.

"_Yugi… stay back. This is my duel. I have to do this alone."_

"_No! Don't use the card! It will destroy you as it has done to so many others!"_

The Pharaoh drew a card. It didn't matter what card he drew. It was already too late. He pushed Yugi away and played the card of fate, the Seal of Orichalcos.

"This is your own downfall, Pharaoh," Rafael said.

The symbol of the Orichalcos appeared on the Pharaoh's forehead. His eyes glowed with the power of the Orichalcos. His monsters on the field turned vicious, but the Pharaoh was too blinded by the Orichalcos to see.

"It's my turn," Rafael said.

He drew a card. Just what he needed. Guardian Eatos, his winning card.

"Now, Pharaoh, witness your own downfall," Rafael said.

He made the tributes he needed to summon his Guardian Eatos. When Eatos drew her sword, the Pharaoh looked around at his monsters. Even his Dark Magician had turned wicked. The only two monsters seemingly unaffected were his Dark Magician Girl and Timaeus, who were both trapped in the ice.

After Eatos's fatal blow to the Pharaoh's monsters, the duel ended. The Seal surrounded the Pharaoh. Suddenly, it seemed like he was being pushed out of the way. What was going on?

"_I'm letting the seal take me instead."_

"_Yugi! No!"_

But it was too late. The Pharaoh collapsed. Rafael lifted his limp body and slung it over his shoulder.

"Hey! Give him back!" Joey's voice broke through Rafael's thoughts.

"If you want him, take him. He's of no use to me," Rafael said, throwing the Pharaoh's body to Joey.

Joey caught the Pharaoh and toppled over. Rafael got away in a helicopter, and headed back to Paridius.

"Yugi, are you okay?" Joey asked.

"He's gone…" The voice didn't sound like Yugi's, "It's my fault…"

It was the Pharaoh, not Yugi in the body. Joey helped the Pharaoh to his feet and then punched him in the face.

"Get a grip!"

The Pharaoh stood up, stunned from Joey's punch. He wasn't used to having his best friend hit him in the face. Even so, he deserved it. He had let Yugi down by using dark powers.

* * *

Dartz was pleased with Rafael. The third Gunsman had done his job. Yugi was trapped, and the Leviathan was growing stronger.

"Rafael, you are dismissed for now. I must head back to the temple."

Rafael nodded. "Of course, Dartz."

The Atlantian walked through the mirror, his suit transforming into white Atlantian robes. Rafael watched him leave. There was something different about him, but he wasn't sure what it was.

In the temple, Dartz looked at the wall of souls. There were two more spots that needed to be filled. Next to Valon, there was a spot for Joey. Next to Alistair, there was a spot for Seto Kaiba. Suddenly, the spot for Joey was filled. He watched as the duelist's soul flew into the wall. Joey's image appeared on the stone. He looked frightened and pained. Mai Valentine had done her job. Now, she had no use. Rafael would take care of her. Dartz looked around the room once more. He sensed a presence. The portal to Atlantis opened up and Dartz ran toward it. He was knocked back by a gust of wind. Standing up, he saw his own image staring back at him. The only difference was that this Dartz had two green eyes. It was the Orichalcos.

"You can't go home. You haven't fulfilled our contract. You promised me souls, I promised you Iona."

Dartz looked in the mirror that led to Paridius. He saw that his eyes were both gold. Was he free?

"All I have to do is defeat you, and you'll let me go," Dartz started.

The Orichalcos Dartz laughed. "And how do you think that you will defeat me?"

Dartz shook his head. "I have no idea, but I know I have one thing that you don't."

"And what might that be?"

"My 'Brothers' are on my side. Iona is on my side. My father and my daughter support me, yet you have nothing."

"I have the life energy of millions of lives. Lives that you took and gave to me."

Dartz dropped to the ground. His Orichalcos counterpart grinned. "Yes, you gave me this power in hopes that I would give you Iona. But in order for me to bring her back, Atlantis will have to rise from the sea."

"Don't lie to me anymore. You're an evil power that has taken my form and my mind."

"But you can't deny that you took souls to feed me. Look around you, Dartz. Look at the destruction you've caused."

The Atlantian lunged at his counterpart, knocking the Orichalcos Dartz to the ground. Stunned, the Orichalcos didn't see Dartz grab the Sword of Kings from the wall. Dartz swung the sword at his counterpart. The Orichalcos Dartz didn't move, but let the sword collide with his arm. The Atlantian cried out, and dropped his sword. A gash had appeared across his arm. It burned, as if the sword had been cursed.

'What did you do?" Dartz cried as he tried to stop the flow of blood from his arm.

The Orichalcos Dartz grabbed his counterpart. Dartz could feel the power of the Orichalcos healing his arm, but also invading his mind again.

"No!" he cried, "I won't let you take me!"

It was too late. Dartz's eyes flashed. He felt himself falling. What he fell on was not what he expected. He landed on something soft. When he opened his eyes, he was in his bedchamber in Atlantis. Had it all been a dream? He got up and staggered. He was still unsure if he was dreaming or in the real world. There was one way to find out.


	8. SECRETS

SECRETS

"This is too good to be true," Dartz said to himself, "I want to believe that I'm home, but I can't be sure until I prove it to myself."

He wrapped a dressing robe around himself and headed toward Kris's room.

"Kris? Are you in there?"

He heard a noise. Opening the door, he saw Kris asleep in her bed. She rolled over and opened her eyes.

"Daddy?"

"Kris," Dartz went over to his daughter and gave her a hug, "I've just had a bad dream, I wanted to make sure that you were okay."

Kris looked at her father. "You never have bad dreams, daddy."

Dartz smiled. "There's a first time for everything, Kris. I'm not immune to bad dreams."

Kris yawned. "I'm tired, daddy."

Dartz tucked her into her bed. She closed her eyes. "Sleep well, Kris."

Dartz left Kris's room and headed to the garden. He knew Iona loved to be in the garden. The moonlight illuminated the fountain in the center of the garden. She sat on the edge of the fountain, staring at the moon. Dartz approached her. She didn't seem to notice him. He wrapped his arms around her and she leaned back against his chest.

"I'm home."

She let out a soft sigh. "You've been missed."

A light glowed from the sky. Dartz looked up at the strange greenish light. Then it hit him. Not only was he reliving the past, the Orichalcos was going to destroy his past.

"Iona, love, go inside," he said.

"Dartz, is something wrong?" she put her hand on his shoulder, "If there is, you can always tell me."

Dartz smiled. "I just want you to be safe," he kissed her lips.

She hugged him and turned to go inside. "Don't stay out here too long."

* * *

The Orichalcos stones rained from the sky. The people of Atlantis panicked and ran into their houses. Dartz stood out in the garden, waiting for the bombardment of stones to stop. When it finally did, Dartz noticed that he had caught one of the stones. It embedded itself in his hand. Shocked, the Atlantian king tried to remove the stone from his hand. The result was excruciating pain. He cried out, but no one came to his aid. But maybe if he cut his hand off, the stone's magic wouldn't infect the rest of his body. He drew his sword and raised it to strike. A pain shot through his back. Something was terribly wrong.

"Dartz?"

He turned to see Iona standing in the doorway. She approached him slowly, "I heard you call for help… are you alright?"

"Iona… go away, I don't want you to get hurt."

She put her hand on his shoulder. "I'm not going anywhere until you explain to me what's going on."

Dartz turned to her and showed her his hand. The stone had disappeared, but she could see a purplish pattern swirling up his arm.

"What's going on?" she asked him.

"Iona… It's the stones. Don't touch them, don't go near anyone who has. This is the curse that it brings—"

He stumbled back, grabbing at his chest. She tried to follow him but he pushed her back with a strange dark magic. She fell back in alarm and started to cry.

"Iona!" he cried, "I'm so sorry…"

She looked up at him and gasped. His hair looked feathery, he had scales appearing on his cheeks. Wings had spread from his back, and the Seal of Orichalcos glowed on his forehead. She turned and ran.

"Iona! Come back!" Dartz reached out toward her. He then noticed what had happened to his hand.

His hand had become the hand of a great beast. He looked in the fountain water at his reflection. The scales had formed across his cheeks, but he still looked relatively human. _At least,_ he thought, _Iona still knows it's me…_

Iona heard Dartz's voice calling to her. She spun around to face him, but found a beast crouched in front of her. It had feathers hanging over its face, and its purplish wings drooped, as if it was weary and worn out. She parted the feathers to get a good look at the monster. Under the feathers was a handsome face. A face she knew well.

"Oh, Dartz, I'm so sorry… I'm too late, aren't I…"

The monster couldn't speak. It looked at Iona and turned away from her. Its great feathery wings opened up as it got ready to fly away.

"Dartz, you promised me once to take me far away from Atlantis, you promised me that you would protect me from harm, from everything that could possibly go wrong."

The Dartz monster turned back to Iona. It rustled its feathers and nuzzled up against her. She stroked the feathers that surrounded its face.

"I know that you'll be back to normal when you get rid of the Orichalcos once and for all, but until then, I guess you can't stay here…"

The monster let out a soft growling sound, like a purring noise. Iona hugged the monster. Under its feathers, she could feel Dartz's form. She kissed Dartz's mouth. The monster shivered and turned away from her. It spread its wings and flew into the sky. Iona held a feather in her hand, which quickly disintegrated. She gasped. The monster's blood stained her hand.

As the Dartz monster flew through the sky, the spell of the Orichalcos began to fade from its body. The feathers disappeared, the scales, the claws, everything, leaving the Atlantian king falling from the sky.

* * *

Dartz hit the cold ground of the temple. He opened his eyes. The Orichalcos had showed him Atlantis as it would have been if he had found the stone before Iona. He would have been the monster, and he would have died, fallen into the ocean, never to be seen again. Of course she would mourn, but he knew she'd be able to make it through. Kris would be raised under her grandfather, former King Ironheart, and he would eventually be forgotten.

No… these were doubts put into his mind by the Orichalcos. Nothing like that would happen, would it? He rolled up his sleeve to make sure that he had been dreaming, but saw the purplish snakelike burns running up his arm. Maybe he hadn't been dreaming.

"Dartz,"

The Atlantian leapt to his feet. He let his sleeve fall over his scarred arm, and turned to face Rafael.

"Mai's done with. Her soul is yours," the gunsman said.

"Thank you, Rafael. It's a matter of time till the Pharaoh and his friends will come here. Why don't you stop them in their tracks…"

The gunsman nodded, but he knew deep down inside that Dartz was using him. He disappeared through the mirror.

_It's only a matter of time, Iona, then I'll come home._


	9. TEAMWORK

TEAMWORK

The Pharaoh had defeated Rafael in a duel, yet neither had their souls taken. The building had collapsed, but Rafael had survived. Now, it was time for the Pharaoh, Kaiba, Tristan, Tea, and Mokuba to find Dartz. The five headed into a helicopter and found that Joey's body was there. The helicopter took off as Kaiba told his pilot where to fly.

"It's impossible to get in there," the pilot said, "The wind's too strong!"

"Do you want me to fire you when I get my company back?" Kaiba asked, the usual sarcastic-icy Kaiba tone to his voice.

"No sir!" the pilot said, "But we may get lost in the storm."

"I'll bet that Dartz wants us to find him," the Pharaoh said.

"The Pharaoh's right. He'll lead us to him," Tristan agreed.

As the helicopter landed, Kaiba and the Pharaoh looked at the temple. It was large enough to fill a small, private island, but didn't seem like a place where a Leviathan could be sleeping. Kaiba was the first to enter the temple.

"Why… why do I feel so sad?" Kaiba felt like something was wrong. Something was very wrong. He usually didn't feel sad, especially in front of others.

"You're right… I feel sad too," the Pharaoh said as he stood beside Kaiba, "Everyone, stay away from us. This could be a trap."

The five walked through the temple, trying not to look at the creepy pillars with snakes on them, or at the sacrificial altar they knew would be there. Tea suddenly saw something that sent shivers down her spine.

"Look! There!"

Kaiba looked up. On the wall were stone tablets. On the stone tablets were images of people.

"Joey! Mai! Weevil, and Rex! Are these the souls that were taken?" Tristan's voice cut through the awkward silence.

The Pharaoh looked at the stone tablets. There was one… it had…

"Yugi! Yugi!" The Pharaoh ran toward the stone with his partner on it.

"I thought you'd never get here," a voice said.

The five turned to two torches. The flames from the torches leapt out and hit the ground, forming the shape of a tall man.

"Dartz," the Pharaoh said coolly.

"Welcome to our temple," Dartz began, "If we can get strong souls like you, my god will bless you too."

"Your god only brings trouble," Kaiba said.

"Is that so?" Dartz smiled.

"Listen, Dartz, you're the only one left. We've defeated your three gunsmen," the Pharaoh said.

"True, they're defeated," Dartz said, "but using their souls as sacrifice was always my plan."

"You're too much!" Tea said, biting her lip.

"But it's not enough. I need your souls to bring back the Leviathan."

"For the last time Dartz, I ask you to let our friends go! Stop your useless fight!" the Pharaoh said.

"Look around, won't you?" Dartz said. He snapped his fingers. The whole room lit up. There were torches everywhere.

Mokuba gasped. "Brother, look!"

"This… this is the reason we feel so sad…" Kaiba said, as he looked at the stones on the floor and the other seven walls. The large octagonal room was covered from ceiling to floor and wall to wall with souls.

"These people… they're not just from our time…" Mokuba clung to Tea. He was frightened.

"That's right," Dartz said, "These are people from ten thousand years ago. This is also why I'm standing here today."

Kaiba finally snapped. "Listen, Dartz, I want my company back. So stop this nonsense now!"

"You'll have to beat me first."

"What?" The Pharaoh was shocked.

"A duel is a type of ritual where souls are used as stakes. Let's abide by the old rules then, shall we?" Dartz walked toward the Pharaoh and Kaiba. A chaos duel disk appeared on his arm.

"I'll duel you," Kaiba said. He sounded confident.

"No, not alone," the Pharaoh said.

"Then you shall duel me together. Pharaoh, Seto, hand over your souls!"

* * *

Rafael lifted Valon's body into his car. Mai was already in the car. She too, had lost her soul.  
"Valon, Mai, we still have work to do. Dartz is going to pay."

* * *

"I'll go first," Kaiba declared, "Activate Magic Card! Advent of White Dragon. Next I sacrifice the Bulate Elephant. Now, show yourself, Knight of White Dragon to the field. But I'm not done. Now, I use the Knight's special effect, to bring Blue Eyed White Dragon to the field."

Dartz looked at the great dragon and smiled.

"It's my first turn, so I can't attack. Now it's my partner's turn."

"Watch out, Dartz, it's my turn!" the Pharaoh said, drawing a card, "I activate the Chaos Ritual. Next I sacrifice the Magnet Warrior. Descend, Legendary Chaos Soldier! Like Kaiba, I can't attack on my first turn."

"Yeah! Dartz better watch out! My brother and Yugi can summon their strongest monsters on their first turn!" Mokuba cheered from the sidelines.

"So, you want me to worry about who I duel with. How kind. It's my turn."

Dartz drew a card. "A card that was born from the ultimate darkness, a card that possesses the power of fatality!"

"Is that it?" Kaiba asked, as the dark wind extinguished the torches. Now the only light came from Dartz's sacred seal.

"The Seal of the Oracle. The Seal of Orichalcos," the Pharaoh said.

"Arise, Orichalcos Gil Gars. Next, I sacrifice five hundred life points and summon Oracle Kyutora to the field. My turn is over."

Kaiba drew a card. He began to laugh. Soon his laughter was almost to the point of insanity. He looked at Dartz. "I don't know how strong you are as a duelist, but now you only have two useless monsters on the field. Victory is in our hands. Remember, you're pitting yourself against the strongest duelists in the world!"

Dartz said nothing.

"I play the magic Fusion card. Fusing the three Blue Eyed White Dragons, I summon my strongest monster. Go, Blue Eyed Ultimate Dragon!" he turned to the Pharaoh, "Yugi, if you are a true duelist, you will have the card to summon the monster that will finish him!"

"Kaiba, I will follow in your footsteps. Dartz, the card I play will smash your ambition. I play the magic Fusion card. Blue Eyed Ultimate Dragon and Legendary Chaos Soldier, ultimate fuse! Arise, Dragon King of the Night! Now with Meteor Rain, you will lose the difference between Gil Gars's defense and Dragon Knight's attack points!"

"If I'm right, that's thirty five hundred. That's enough to blast Dartz to bits!" Tea said.

"Now, end this with Saber Blast!" The Pharaoh and Kaiba commanded their dragon soldier to attack.

Dartz laughed. "A valiant effort, but your attack fell short. Now watch this."

The Seal of Orichalcos glowed around the three duelists. The Pharaoh and Kaiba found themselves in open space, the stars swirling around them.

* * *

"Look at the darkness as it surrounds our entire planet!"

The three floated above a beautiful sky. The clouds parted and a city surrounded by water appeared.

"What's that?" Kaiba asked.

"That is the city of Atlantis, as it was when I was king," Dartz said.

"You were king?" The Pharaoh was shocked. How could this man… this monster… how could he be king of Paradise? _There must be more to the story, _the Pharaoh thought.

"I was king, and I will be again, for when I defeat you, paradise will return!"


	10. FLASH TO THE PAST

FLASH TO THE PAST

_The Pharaoh looked down at the scene in Atlantis. He saw a young blue haired boy being chased by three older boys. They were laughing. It then hit him that the small boy was Dartz. Maybe he had been right, maybe something else made Dartz go mad. The four boys headed toward the courtyard of the castle. When they arrived, they began to spar with swords. _

"_Is that you, Dartz?" the Pharaoh asked._

_The Atlantian king looked at the Pharaoh. For a moment, the Pharaoh saw the boy in Dartz's eyes. But the similarity vanished quickly. When he looked down at Atlantis again, he saw the same blue haired boy, but he was older. His hair reached a bit below his waist. It was tied in a loose ponytail. He was dressed in white. At his side was a young woman. Judging from her looks, she was no older than eighteen. She held the young man's hand. It was a wedding. The Pharaoh looked up at Dartz again. He saw the sadness in the Atlantian's eyes, and even if Kaiba couldn't see it, the Pharaoh knew that Dartz was most definitely human. He had a heart. _

_The Pharaoh looked down at Atlantis again. The clouds had turned dark. He found himself in the castle. The young man was holding the young woman close. She was clearly in pain. She let out a cry and pushed the young man away. Her hand turned into a monster's claw. The Pharaoh gasped. _

"_When the Orichalcos came in contact with a person, it showed their true colors," Dartz watched the scene as well. His voice wavered slightly, but only the Pharaoh noticed. _

_The young woman ran from the throne room. The Pharaoh heard her scream. The young man, the young Dartz, ran after her. The Pharaoh followed the young Dartz behind the curtain. There was a monster wearing the young woman's torn dress. The young Dartz drew his sword and ran it through the monster. As it fell, it changed back into the young woman. The young Dartz scooped her up in his arms and cried._

"_I couldn't understand how a society as perfect as ours could crumble like this… the Orichalcos showed me the answer. The people of Atlantis were evil, and I had been chosen to wipe them out and start over again!"_

_The scene changed again. The fields of Atlantis were stained with blood. Dartz's father, King Ironheart, and Dartz's daughter, Kris, stood in front of an army of Duel Monsters. Dartz's army of Orichalcos soldiers charged at the monsters. Then, three knights appeared. _

"_Timaeus, Critias, Hieremos!" Dartz looked at the three knights._

"_Dartz! Stop this madness!" Timaeus cried._

"_We know you're in there, Brother!" Critias called._

"_Wake up!" Hieremos said, running toward the Atlantian King. _

_Dartz drew his sword. "You couldn't even sense your own brother's strife!"_

_Strife? What strife?_

_Hieremos transformed into a dragon. He flew into the sky._

"_My twin… he's gone!" Critias yelled. His eyes filled with rage. "You'll pay for that!" He too charged at the Atlantian. _

_Dartz's eyes flashed. Critias cried out in pain. He too, transformed into a dragon. _

"_Brother, if something was wrong, why didn't you tell us?" Timaeus asked, sadness in his voice._

"_You would never listen to me!" Dartz charged at Timaeus, striking him in the face with his sword. Timaeus covered his face. Blood ran between his hands. _

"_My eye!" Timaeus cried out, falling back. He too, transformed into a dragon. _

_Dartz dropped to the ground. The Great Leviathan appeared behind him. _

"_Dartz… why are you showing us this?" the Pharaoh asked._

_Dartz growled. "It just proves that even the Legendary dragons couldn't defeat me."_

_Kaiba scoffed. "Either way, you're done. Our Dragon Knight wiped out the rest of your life points."_

"_It should have, but your attack fell short. Take a closer look."_

* * *

The duelists returned to the temple. Mokuba, Tea, and Tristan shielded their eyes from the bright light. When the light faded, Dartz had not lost any life points.

"How? How did you survive an attack by our strongest monster?" Kaiba was shocked.

"It's simple. Oracle Kytora has a special ability. When I take damage, Kyutora absorbs it. Then, my life points are safe. Now, it's my turn. Gil Gars, return!"

The ogre like monster returned to the field. Dartz didn't draw a card.

"I have everything I need in my hand. Now, witness the power of the Sacred Seal, as I add to its power with the magic of Orichalcos Deuteros!"

A second layer of Atlantian runes appeared around the seal. Kaiba and the Pharaoh felt the pressure of the dark magic. Yet, the Pharaoh thought that he knew a way to Dartz's heart. He looked up at the Atlantian.

"Who was she?" he asked.

Dartz froze. What had he asked? "What does it matter to you?"

"The woman, the young woman that you were with… Who was she?"

Dartz growled. "It's of no importance to you…"

The Pharaoh knew that his plan was working. As the duel went on, Kaiba lost most of his life points, Dartz summoned Oracle Malevolence, and his Mirror Knights, who happened to be Yugi, Joey, Pegasus and Mai. He increased the power of the Seal with its third and most powerful level, Orichalcos Tritos. He was beginning to crush the two other duelists.

* * *

A loud humming noise rang through the temple. A motor bike and its rider entered into the main chamber. It was Rafael. He looked at the Atlantian.

"You don't look happy to see me."

Dartz said nothing. He was distracted by something else.

"So tell me, Dartz, when were you going to alert me of your evil ways?"

Dartz looked at Rafael. His golden green eyes flashed. "I needed your anger."

Rafael looked blankly at Dartz.

"Alistair's brother wasn't killed by Guzoboro, that armor belongs to me. I framed Valon, and you…"

The blond gunsman growled.

"I drove your family's ship into the storm."

That was the last straw. Rafael's eyes flashed with rage. "You ruined my life! You monster!"

Eatos rose behind Rafael, her sword in hand. The Seal of Orichalcos appeared under his feet.

"Rafael, control your anger! You can stop his magic!" the Pharaoh called to the gunsman.

"Wrong, Pharaoh. The Orichalcos lives within him, as it does us all."

Eatos disappeared and her sword emitted a ray of light. Rafael fell back, he had been captured.

Kaiba looked over. "I refuse to end up like that!"

* * *

Then, Kaiba had drawn the miracle card.

"Now, arise, my dragon!"

Dartz saw the dark blue dragon rise behind Kaiba. "It's Critias!"

"And Critias is going to crush your knights. If I know Yugi's face down card, it's Mirror Force."

"You're right, Kaiba, it is Mirror Force."

"Then I will fuse Mirror Force with Critias and form Mirror Force Dragon! Now, Mirror Force Dragon, crush his Knights with Reflective force blast!"

Dartz's knights disappeared. Yugi looked at his Pharaoh partner, and Pegasus smiled at Kaiba before they disappeared. Oracle Kyutora closed its eye and began to glow.

"What's going on?" The Pharaoh asked.

"This is Oracle Shunaros! My little friend is all grown up, so playtime's over. Release Oracle Dexia and Oracle Aristeros!"

The Pharaoh gasped. "What's going on?"

"Meet Oracle Dexia! Dexia has an attack three hundred points higher than it's opponent, making it the perfect sword."

The left arm glowed with the light of the Orichalcos.

"And meet Oracle Aristeros! Aristeros can intercept any attack and direct it back to Dexia, making it the perfect shield."

The right arm glowed with the light of the Orichalcos.

Now Dartz had not only a card to destroy Kaiba's Mirror force, he also had the power to destroy Critias.

"Shunaros, bring Kaiba's soul to me! Photon Ring Blast!"

The blast from Shunaros split Critias in half. The fallen dragon disappeared and Kaiba fell back.

"Kaiba! Kaiba can you hear me?" The Pharaoh ran over to his fallen partner.

"I'm… not done… yet…" Kaiba groaned, "Activate face-down. It's called Final Wish. It transfers all of Critias's attack points to Yugi's life points."

The Pharaoh felt a new life rushing through his body. Kaiba's life.

"Give my brother back!" little Mokuba cried over Kaiba's body.

"Silence!" Dartz summoned a wind that took not only Mokuba, but Tristan and Tea as well, "It looks like you're the soul survivor, Pharaoh."

"This ends now!" the Pharaoh called to Dartz.

He drew a card. It was just what he needed.


	11. LEGEND OF HEART

LEGEND OF HEART

The Pharaoh had drawn Legend of Heart, the card that Pegasus had made for him. He looked up at Dartz.

"Do you know what I have in my hand? It's called Legend of Heart, which allows me to summon Timaeus, Critias, and Hieremos in their true forms!"

Lightning flashed. Dartz stepped back. He looked up at the clouds, knowing what would come next.

"At last, after ten millennia in captivity, we have been reborn!"

A bright beam of light hit the ground in front of the Pharaoh. When the light faded, three knights stood, guarding the Pharaoh.

"I am he who is known as Timaeus!" the knight in green said, drawing his blade.

"And I am Sir Critias!" the knight in blue drew his blade.

"I am Sir Hieremos!" the knight in red, the blue knight's twin, drew his blade.

"In the name of Atlantis, we have been reborn!"

Dartz stared dumbstruck at his brothers. The curse raged on his arm. "I thought I took care of you centuries ago!" the Atlantian grabbed at his arm. The pain was excruciating.

The three knights charged at Dartz. The Atlantian braced himself for three very strong attacks, but they never came. Instead, the Seal of Orichalcos shattered. Dartz looked around. Had the spell been broken? When he heard his own voice, he knew it wasn't.

"What have you done? My seal is gone!"

"Your ring of darkness is useless in out presence!" Hieremos said.

"Did you forget our last encounter?" Critias asked.

"I certainly did not," Timaeus said, motioning to the scar over his right eye, "And I have a score to settle with you!"

Dartz growled. Dark energy rose from his body. Timaeus nearly swore out loud.

The Pharaoh played a face down and ended his turn.

* * *

"_Timaeus!"_

_A blue haired boy ran toward an older boy in a green tunic._

"_Dartz, what is it?"_

"_It's Critias, he won't play anymore," the little prince whimpered, grabbing Timaeus's hand. _

"_Well, he might just be in a bad mood," Timaeus said, "Give him time."_

"_Timaeus!" a boy in red ran toward the two others. _

"_Hieremos?"_

"_Critias has been having visions again. This time, they're about Dartz… Something called the stone of the Oracle…" Hieremos said, putting his hand on Dartz's shoulder._

"_Timaeus, this is what I meant. Critias thinks I'm going to do something bad!"_

_Timaeus led Dartz to Critias. Hieremos tapped his twin on the shoulder._

"_Does this look like the face of someone who would be evil?" Timaeus asked, motioning to Dartz._

_The little prince's face was pale and flawless, and his golden eyes were filled with fear and sadness._

"_No… it's not, but I can't help but worry…" Critias said.

* * *

_

Dartz looked from Critias to Shuanros, and then to Critias again.

"You've caused me enough grief, Critias. Shunaros, take down Critias!"

_Dartz…_ Critias's voice rang in Dartz's head. _I never thought you'd do this…_

"Silence!" Dartz growled.

"Critias, defend. Activate your sword's ability. Absorb Mirror Force! Blast Shunaros's attack back at it!" the Pharaoh commanded.

"I can fight you right back, Dartz!" the blue knight called.

Shunaros was hit with its own attack. Dexia and Aristeros shattered, and the great porcelain giant collapsed. Dartz cried out in pain. The mark on his arm moved again. It was as if it was alive… A great serpent appeared behind Dartz. The Atlantian's eyes flashed from gold to Orichalcos green.

"Meet my Divine Serpent! It's attack is limitless! And there's not a card in your deck that can beat it. There's a catch, I have to discard my hand, and give up all of my life points. Oh well," Dartz laughed.

"That means you lose.." the Pharaoh said.

"Under normal circumstances, yes. But as long as my serpent remains on the field, I'm safe."

"Stand strong, Hieremos, Critias," Timaeus said.

The serpent hissed and opened it's mouth.

"Now, strike down Timaeus!" Dartz called.

The serpent sent a blast of energy at the knight in green. Timaeus cried out in pain. His body began to disintegrate. Critias tried to reach Timaeus, but his twin, Hieremos, pulled him back. Timaeus's last cries were lost as the serpent let out another loud hiss.

"And then there were two, as for you, you've just lost all of your life points, so games over, Pharaoh."

The two remaining knights looked at the spot where Timaeus had been.

_Dartz! _Hieremos gasped, _How could you kill your own brother?_

Dartz looked at Hieremos. The knight in red saw that this was not Dartz, but the Orichalcos.

"Reveal face down! It's called Relay Soul, It allows me to summon Black Magician Girl, and put my life in her hands," the Pharaoh said.

Dartz smiled. "Well then, I'll reveal my face down as well. It's called Impact Revive. It allows me to bring back one monster."

Timaeus returned, breathing heavily. He looked at Dartz. His brother's golden eyes stared back, full of fear and sadness.

_Dartz, remember our contract. You give me the Pharaoh's soul, I give you Iona._

The Atlantian nodded. His eyes flashed back to their heterochromatic style. He looked back at the Pharaoh, who was dumbstruck.

"Why did you revive Timaeus?"

"To prove how powerless you really are. Impact revive lets me attack again. Now, Divine Serpent! End this duel! Bring the Pharaoh's soul to me!"

Hieremos stepped in front of Black Magician Girl and spilt the serpent's attack in half. "I'll protect you, Pharaoh!"

"Now it's my turn! Hieremos, Critias, attack his serpent!"

"Feel my sword of Wisdom!" Hieremos called.

"Feel my sword of Renewal!" Critias called.

"Now, Hieremos's special ability can take effect. He can target his attack to any monster, and I choose Critias. And with Critias's sword, I can bounce it back to Hieremos, making the attack strength infinite!" the Pharaoh called.

"How is that helpful to you? It's stuck in an endless cycle!" Dartz said.

"I still have Timaeus."

The three Knights disappeared. In their place was a knight in gold armor.

"Meet my Knight of Destiny!"

The Knight of Destiny charged at the Serpent. The great snake fell as the knight's sword slashed through its heart.

"And with that, you lose. Now release the souls!" the Pharaoh commanded.

Dartz stood motionless. The aura hadn't stopped flowing from his arm. He looked at the wall of souls.

"No… I was too close…" the curse raged through his body. The Pharaoh watched as Dartz fell back. He disappeared into a portal.

"Damn," Timaeus said.

"Your friends should be better," Critias said.

Kaiba, Tristan, Tea, and Mokuba woke up. Joey ran in.

The Pharaoh felt a familiar presence. Yugi.

"Now go on! Find Dartz!" Hieremos said, "It would mean the world to us."

The three legendary Duelists, Joey, Kaiba, and Yugi headed through the portal.


	12. RISE OF THE GREAT BEAST

RISE OF THE GREAT BEAST

Dartz stumbled. He had been so close. But he was home, in Atlantis, or what had been Atlantis. The curse raged through his body. The pain was almost unbearable.

_Leave your body behind, Dartz, and join the souls…_

"No… you promised me… Iona…" the Atlantian was tormented by the Orichalcos.

_And I lied. Now I have your body, and your Leviathan. _

Dartz cried out. Something was terribly wrong. He looked at his hands. They were turning to ice. Panicked, the Atlantian ran to the center of the city, He slumped in a chair as the rest of his body crystallized.

Atlantis rose from the sea. A dark aura surrounded the city. The three duelists found themselves in a courtyard. The ruined palace was nearby.

"This Atlantis place is a real dump," Joey said.

"Shut up," muttered Kaiba, "I don't even want to be here."

"Any idea where Dartz is?" Joey asked, as the three duelists walked through the ruined Atlantis. He looked at a bright light shining from the center of the ruined city. "I guess green beam of light marks the spot…"

The three duelists found the center of the city quite quickly. At the center of the city was Dartz. He was in a seat, seemingly waiting for the three Duelists. The Pharaoh took over Yugi's body. He reached out to touch Dartz's hand, just to make sure he was there. As soon as his hand made contact with Dartz's, the Atlantian's body disintegrated, just like Timaeus's had in the duel. As Dartz's body faded, his golden eyes flashed Orichalcos green.

"Well, I thought he was creepy before." Joey said.

"It's just another phony magic trick," Kaiba said.

"Is that your answer to everything, Kaiba? You really need a new catch phrase. " Dartz's voice rang through the city.

"Where are you?" the Pharaoh asked.

"I'm right here, with the Great Leviathan," Dartz's image appeared in the sky.

"You said you needed to have the souls of the three Legendary Duelists," the Pharaoh said.

"I did, but I substituted an equally powerful soul."

"Your soul…"

"Bingo."

"But why your soul?"

"Promises were broken, Pharaoh," Dartz said.

_The Pharaoh found himself floating above Atlantis. He looked around for Dartz. He found the Atlantian in the courtyard, but he wasn't Dartz. He had wings and feathers and scales. The Pharaoh could only recognize him by his feathery blue hair. A young woman approached the monster Dartz. The Pharaoh found himself standing behind the woman. She was the same woman who had turned into a monster in the previous vision. She parted the blue feathers that fell before the monster's face Underneath the feathers was Dartz's handsome visage. The young woman stroked the monster's face. She began to cry. _

"_Oh, Dartz, I'm too late, aren't I…"_

_The monster ruffled its feathers. It muttered one word, "Iona."_

_Was that her name? Iona? Maybe that was the key to defeating the Orichalcos. _

_The monster nuzzled against Iona. She didn't flee, or push it away. In fact, she seemed very accepting of the monster. Suddenly, the monster turned to the Pharaoh._

"_We're not done yet, Pharaoh."_

_The Pharaoh was dumbstruck. Wasn't this just a vision? He looked from Iona to the monster. Iona saw him too._

"_Dartz, who is this man?"_

_The monster looked at Iona. He said something, but the Pharaoh couldn't make it out. He assumed Dartz was speaking Atlantian. When the monster turned back to the Pharaoh, it had started to change shapes again. _

"_Now do you see the power of the Orichalcos? You can't stop me within a vision."_

When the Pharaoh opened his eyes, he was standing before the Great Leviathan. It had risen from the sea.

"Look!" Joey said pointing to the Leviathan. Atop the great beast was Dartz himself. His Orichalcos green eyes flashed.

"I'm done with this crazy magic trick!" Kaiba called to the Leviathan.

"Wait… I have an idea," the Pharaoh said.

Timaeus, Critias, and Hieremos ran through the portal. The three knights spotted the Leviathan rising from the sea, yet, Dartz had said that he needed the souls of the three chosen duelists. The three legendary duelists stood before the Leviathan. Timaeus looked at the Leviathan's head. Atop the Leviathan was a rider, or so it seemed.

"Critias! Look!" Timaeus called to the knight in blue.

Critias looked at the Leviathan. Then he noticed what Timaeus had noticed. He tapped Hieremos on the shoulder.

The knight in red stared at the Leviathan in awe.

"Brother sacrificed his own soul and became the Orichalcos God…" Timaeus said, a shiver running down his spine.

"But why?" Critias asked.

"_You couldn't even sense your own brother's strife!"_

_Dartz cried out as he struck Timaeus. The knight transformed into a dragon. _

"That's it!" Timaeus said to Critias.

"What?"

"It's Iona. He still thinks he can get her back!"

"Timaeus! Critias! Hieremos!" the Pharaoh called to the three knights, "Give us a hand here!"

The three knights nodded. Timaeus couldn't help but look at the Orichalcos God. Had Dartz really gone insane? He wouldn't believe it.

"So, you've come to fight on even grounds." The Orichalcos God laughed.

Timaeus called upon the help of Ironheart's monster army. As the Duel Spirits appeared, Timaeus, Critias, and Hieremos led the attack that would bring down the Orichalcos God, or so they thought.

"Are the souls freed?' the Pharaoh asked as the light faded.

"If they were free, wouldn't that mean that the Orichalcos God was defeated?" Joey asked.

"Shut up and look!" Kaiba said.

The Great Leviathan rose from the light, and roared. It sent out what looked like black ropes from its body and grabbed the three Legendary Duelists. Timaeus looked in awe as the Orichalcos God started to absorb the duelists' powers.

"We have to do something!" Hieremos said.

"He's right," Critias said.

"But what if we hurt Dartz?" Timaeus asked.

"Don't worry about that."

Timaeus turned. He saw the image of Dartz as he had been before the Orichalcos took over his mind. He looked no older than twenty six or so.

"Is it really you?" Timaeus asked.

"It is, even if only for a moment. I escaped the Orichalcos God, even if only for a while. But this is my battle. This is my darkness that I must face alone."

"Brother, no!" Hieremos said, reaching out to grab Dartz as he ran toward the Orichalcos God.

"Leave him," Critias said, "If we ever want to see the old Dartz again, he's going to have to defeat this darkness on his own."

Dartz drew the Sword of Kings and leapt at the Orichalcos God. He aimed at his body atop the Leviathan's head. The Orichalcos didn't try to stop him from attacking. Dartz knew that the two bodies were connected, and even if it meant vanquishing his own spirit, at least the others would be safe.

_Help! Help!_

The Pharaoh could hear the voices of the people trapped within the Leviathan. He had an idea.

_If you can hear me, lend me the light of your hearts. We can't defeat the Orichalcos God on our own, but we can do it together. _

The Pharaoh felt new life rushing through his veins. This was the light of the souls.

The Orichalcos God and Dartz clashed again and again. Timaeus watched as his brother tried again and again to regain control of his body. Critias and Hieremos watched as Dartz seemed to disappear. The Orichalcos God dropped the Pharaoh, Kaiba, and Joey. Dartz had gotten into his body, even if only for a moment.

From the Leviathan's body came the light of the three Egyptian Gods. They hovered beside the Leviathan, before the great beast disappeared behind the clouds. The Pharaoh looked at Kaiba and Joey.

"They need my help," he said, leaving Yugi's body. His own light flew into the sky, following the three gods.

The Orichalcos God and Dartz had become one. The Atlantian King was tired from fighting, and fatigued from loneliness. That gave the Orichalcos God the perfect chance to absorb him back into its body. Upon spotting the Pharaoh and his three Gods, the Leviathan roared. The Orichalcos God looked at the Pharaoh.

"I see you've brought your little friends," said the Orichalcos God.

The Leviathan let out a roar and a beam of energy. The Pharaoh's Gods attacked all at once, but even so, the attacks seemed balanced in power.

"You can't win." The Orichalcos God laughed in the Pharaoh's head.

"You may have the darkness, but I have the light!"

The Gods of Egypt blasted the Orichalcos God down through the clouds. A light escaped form the dying Leviathan and landed in the courtyard. The Leviathan fell into the ocean.

The Pharaoh looked at Yugi. Kaiba and Joey had already gone through the portal. All the souls had been freed and it was time to go home. Yugi headed toward the portal, but the Pharaoh pulled him back.

"We can't go yet…"

Turning, the two partners saw Dartz stumble toward them. He looked hurt. His white Atlantian robes were ripped in places, and his long blue hair was disheveled. He looked up at the Pharaoh and Yugi. His eyes were glowing green.

"Dartz, you're alive…" the Pharaoh readied himself for an attack.

Dartz's right arm looked like it had been torn up by some large animal. There were burns running up his arm. Burns that looked like a Leviathan.

From behind the Atlantian, the spirit of the Great Leviathan rose up. It roared.

"Do you see now, Pharaoh, that none of your little Duel Monsters can defeat my Leviathan?" Dartz's voice was soft, but it sent shivers down Yugi's spine.

"Dartz, wake up!" the Pharaoh cried, "Atlantis was peaceful when you reigned. Then the Orichalcos came along and destroyed everything! It took Iona from you!"

Dartz's eyes flashed to gold. The Leviathan turned on him and tried to engulf him in a dark wind. Dartz looked at the Pharaoh. He reached out, but was knocked down by the Leviathan. His eyes flickered again.

"If you want to destroy the world, you'll have to go through me first!" The Pharaoh cried.

"_I'll enjoy this…" _the Leviathan engulfed the Pharaoh in a dark mist.


	13. PHARAOH'S TRIUMPH

PHARAOH'S TRIUMPH

The Pharaoh was engulfed by the Leviathan's dark magic. He stood strong in the heart of the storm. Timaeus, Critias, and Hieremos watched from afar. Wasn't Dartz supposed to defeat his own darkness?

"Pharaoh!" Yugi cried, reaching toward the storm to grab at his partner.

"No! Yugi, this is something I can handle. I have enough light to banish you, Orichalcos God!"

The Leviathan started to disintegrate. Dartz fell back. He struck his head on a pillar. When the Orichalcos God had disappeared, the Pharaoh too, fell back. He was caught by Yugi.

"Pharaoh, are you alright?" Yugi asked.

"I'm fine, but what about Dartz?" the two looked at the Atlantian King. He was slumped against a pillar.

A bright light glowed in front of him. From the light stepped Ironheart, Kris, and Iona. They helped Dartz to his feet. The Atlantian was still a little groggy. He looked around. Timaeus, Critias, and Hieremos ran toward their "brother."

"Dartz!" Critias called.

The Atlantian turned to face his brothers. He stumbled toward them and ended up falling against Hieremos.

"Brothers," he said, "where have I been? I feel so ill, like something's been ailing me for a very long time…"

Timaeus smiled. "You were … ill, for a while, but you're better now."

Yugi looked at the Pharaoh. "Brothers? They're brothers?"

The Pharaoh smiled. "I guess it's like us, we're connected, although not related. Dartz shared a strong bond with the three Knights, I saw it in a vision."

Iona glided over to the Pharaoh. She smiled. "I want to thank you for bringing Dartz home. He was missed," she paused and looked over at Dartz, "but I fear that he must face the darkness alone. You may have weakened the Orichalcos God, but you can't beat it. That's for him to do, and he needs to do it without anyone else's help."

The Pharaoh nodded. He and Yugi stood up, and turned to Dartz and his family. The Atlantian smiled.  
"Thank you for freeing me. Give my regards to Alister, Valon, and Rafael. Tell them that I'm sorry," Dartz said, his voice wavering slightly. His eyes watered.

"Daddy, I missed you," Kris said, running to her father. Dartz lifted the little girl up and gave her a hug. Ironheart looked at the Pharaoh and Yugi.

"Your work here is done, so return now to your world, and you will be able to continue on your journey. We thank you. You will never be forgotten in our history."

Timaeus, Critias, and Hieremos looked at each other and then to the Pharaoh. "We couldn't have gotten our brother back without your help," said Timaeus.

"But it was your bravery that helped," the Pharaoh replied.

The three knights nodded.

The Pharaoh and Yugi stepped through the portal. They had more work to do. When they appeared at the other end of the portal, they saw that Rafael was standing again.

"Rafael," Yugi began, "We have a message for you."

The blonde gunsman looked at Yugi. "Hmm?"

"Dartz was under the control of a force called the Orichalcos. He wanted to thank you for all the times you supported him, even though you knew he was wrong. He also said he had a gift for you."

Rafael looked quizzically at the floating city of Atlantis. "What's his gift?"

"Rafael!"

A little girl came running toward the gunsman. His sister. Behind her were two adults and a boy with brown hair. Dartz had brought back his family… Looking up at the city, he smiled. _Thank you…_

Alister and Valon got similar gifts, Alister's little brother returned, and Valon was released from all criminal charges, under order of a mystery man. But the two knew that it was Dartz's magic that had not only trapped them, but freed them as well.

Dartz rested on his bed. He had been ill for a whole week, and had been trying to sleep off the illness. His family knew that the illness could not be cured by rest, but by acceptance. Dartz was sick because of the Orichalcos God's power. The king still had the marks up his arm. Iona had bandaged his arm so he couldn't tell.

He rolled off the bed and fell to the ground. Startled, he jumped up and looked around. He was at home, in his castle. Not a day had passed in Atlantis while he was gone. He had bandages on his arm, but he couldn't remember why. Everything was a blur, as if it was all a dream. Perhaps it was all a dream… either way his arm hurt, and he felt like he had hit his head on something else, not just the floor.

"Daddy! You're awake!"

Kris ran into the room. She was followed by Timaeus, Critias, Hieremos, and Iona. Dartz looked over at the sound of Kris's voice. He smiled.

"You're finally awake," Timaeus said, "You sleep like a rock."

Critias tried not to laugh as Dartz playfully hit Timaeus. The Atlantian looked at his bandaged arm, and then at Timaeus. He noticed Timaeus's missing eye.

"Brother, what happened to your eye?" He put his hand on the knight's shoulder.

Timaeus smiled at Dartz, "It's just a battle scar. I got it while battling a formidable opponent."

Dartz looked quizzically at Timaeus. He turned his attention to Kris. The little princess smiled at her father. She took his hand.

"You've been really ill, daddy, I've been worried about you.

Dartz couldn't help but wonder what he had been sick with. He ruffled Kris's hair. "It's okay now, right? I'm better."

Iona glided over to Dartz. She motioned for the others to leave. Timaeus lifted Kris up onto his shoulder. When the group had left, Dartz stared at Iona.

"Is something wrong?"

She took his hand, the bandaged one. She began to unravel the bandages. Dartz flinched, his arm was still hurting. When Iona had finished unraveling the bandages, Dartz looked at his arm. It looked like it had been torn up by a monster. There were scratches and burns running the length of his arm, and runes too. Runes that glowed. He looked at Iona, panicked.

"What is this? What's wrong with me?" he sat down on the bed and stared in awe at his arm. What could have done this?

"This is the curse of the Orichalcos, a curse you must defeat on your own. None of us can help you through this task, but when you are free, everything will be so much better," she wrapped her arms around him.

The Orichalcos wasn't a dream then. Everything was fitting together. Everything was his fault. Timaeus's eye, lost in a battle against "a formidable foe," his own brother. The pain in his side, Critias's claws, from his dragon days. Not even Hieremos's magic water could fix this.

"I feel like I want to die," he said softly.

"No, no, that's what the Orichalcos wants you to do… you must stay strong, we're not going to leave you," Iona stroked his cheek. He smiled at her. He could defeat the Orichalcos, but he didn't know how long it would take.


	14. BREAKING THE SEAL

BREAKING THE SEAL

Dartz paced around his room, trying to think of a way to defeat the Orichalcos God. Iona sat on the bed, watching her husband in his misery. She stood up and put her hand on his shoulder. He looked over at her and smiled. She took his good hand and led him back to the bed so he could sit. He had been pacing for a good two hours. She leaned against him. He wrapped his arms around her, but he knew that if he was with her too much, the Orichalcos God would take her again. As if reading his thoughts, she sighed.

"He can't hurt me. He's not strong enough. But he will recover strength if you don't defeat him soon."

Dartz stroked Iona's hair, like the night he was supposed to take her to the world beyond Atlantis. She too, remembered that day, the day where the Orichalcos had first come to Atlantis. She wondered if it had fallen to any other places on earth. However, the God could only have one host, and unfortunately, it had chosen her Dartz.

"Iona, you look tired. You should rest. Let me take care of the Orichalcos God."

She smiled at him. He stood up and let her curl up on the bed. As she started to drift off, he kissed her forehead.

"Sleep well, love."

Dartz headed to find Timaeus. He found the knight in the courtyard. In fact he found all three knights there. They were sparring. Timaeus looked over at Dartz.

"Hello, Brother."

Dartz smiled. He looked at Critias, who had been sparring with Timaeus.

"Do you mind if I try?"

Critias laughed. "You had the upper hand last time, but Timaeus has improved a lot. Good luck trying to knock him down."

Dartz drew his sword, the Sword of Kings and faced Timaeus. The knight in green took the first move. His attacks were fast, but Dartz was managing to block almost every one of them. He wasn't attacking much himself, but that was due to his arm injury. He let Timaeus come at him, dodging some of the attacks with a simple jump back. Timaeus was impressed with Dartz's agility. He could tell that Dartz was still in pain. He wasn't holding his sword with both hands, and he most definitely couldn't hold a shield. Timaeus tried once again to knock the sword from Dartz's hand, but before he could, Dartz dropped it anyway. Timaeus stopped.

"Why did you stop sparring, brother?" the knight asked.

"It's not right to fight you. I took out your eye in the last fight we had. I think I caused enough damage to you."

Timaeus put his hand on Dartz's shoulder. The king smiled.

"I don't want to be used as a vessel for the Orichalcos God. And I think the first step is to learn humility."

Timaeus looked at Dartz's arm. It was healing. Dartz looked down as well. He stared in awe.

"Does this mean…?"

Timaeus nodded.

Dartz turned to Critias. He knelt before the knight in blue. "You swore loyalty to me and my family ten thousand years ago, and I betrayed your trust. I ask you for forgiveness, and to see me truly as your brother again."

Critias extended his hand to Dartz who stood up and smiled. Critias nodded.

"I always knew you were in there. Even through all the wicked things the Orichalcos God did, I knew the true Dartz was there."

Dartz then turned to Hermos. He put his hand on Hermos's shoulder. The knight in red smiled.

"Hermos, you have been nothing but a true friend to me. I remember the day where you and Critias and Timaeus rescued me from the bullies. I will never forget that day. You showed me that above all things, friendship and kindness can defeat all odds. I thank you for that, and I offer you in return, my eternal gratitude. I offer you all my loyalty, my eternal protection, and eternal friendship."

The three knights nodded.

"Now there's only one thing to do. The final duel with the Orichalcos God will prove to be my most difficult challenge, but with you and my family by my side, I know that I will prevail."


End file.
